Christie’s Heads to Abu Dhabi to Mark 20 Years in United Arab Emirates, as Country’s Market Grows
Christie’s will hold its first fine art auction in Abu Dhabi on November 1, marking 20 years since it staged what it calls the first international auction-house sale in the United Arab Emirates in Dubai in 2006. The Abu Dhabi sale, titled “MAWASIM: 20 Years of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art,” will offer more than 70 works at the Abu Dhabi Edition hotel, including pieces by Paul Guiragossian, Samia Halaby, Mohamed Melehi, Marwan Kassab-Bachi, Inji Efflatoun, and Nabil Nahas. The move comes as Abu Dhabi expands its commercial art market alongside its cultural institutions, with Sotheby’s establishing a presence there in 2025 and Frieze launching Frieze Abu Dhabi on November 19–22 with 84 galleries from 64 cities across 37 countries and regions. The article also notes that the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is scheduled to open on December 11 and that Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ invested $1 billion in Sotheby’s in 2024. Christie’s points to growing demand for the category, citing its November London sale from the Dalloul Collection totaling £4.1 million ($5.4 million), with 93% sold by value, 85% by lot, and eight auction records set.
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This story was covered in Restitution Reckonings and a Market on the Move